‘Cowboy builder left us living in DUST’: Family’s home resembles a building site after workman walked away from unfinished extension two months ago after taking 30,000 payment in full
- Julie Schermer, 59, from Nottinghamshire detailed how she ‘cries’ over works
- Builder Sean Gartland paused the extension after his second £15,000 payment
- The 39-year-old said the fuel shortage delayed him and promised to return
- Ms Schermer says Mr Gartland blocked her number.
- She also feels ‘preyed upon’ after moving to the UK from Holland last year.
A Nottinghamshire mother says she is ‘living in dust’ after a builder stopped work on her extension after charging her £30,000.
Julie Schermer, 59, from Bilsthorpe, says ‘sometimes I just sit in my house and cry’.
The work to create an extension and remove her fireplace was stopped midway through, in October.
She claims the builder, Sean Gartland, took his second instalment of £15,000 and stopped, leaving half of her bottom floor in a dilapidated state.
Mr Gartland has refuted these claims, and blamed the fuel shortage for the delay.
Julie Schermer said ‘sometimes I just sit in my house and cry’ after work to create an extension and remove her fireplace was stopped midway through, in October.
Sean Gartland, took his second instalment of £15,000 and stopped, leaving half of Ms Schermer’s bottom floor in a dilapidated state.
Ms Schermer said: ‘It’s depressing. I’ve tried to get my money back, I can’t live like this. I’m living in the dust.’
The 59-year-old found Mr Gartland through tradespeople site Book a Builder under New Looks Building Services.
Housing work began in July after the first payment, before progress began to slow down.
Work started in July after the first payment, before progress began to slow down.
By the end of September the extension had reached roof height, but the client was told she needed to make a second payment of £15,000 for the windows and roof tiles.
One week later, the builder took the bottom half of the fireplace out and never came back, says Ms Schermer.
What should you do if you have a problem with building work?
If you’ve had work done at home and there’s a problem caused by the trader, you should be able to get it fixed – or get at least some of your money back.
Whatever the problem is, you’ll need to talk to the trader and come to an agreement.
You should take up the problem with the trader who arranged the work, even if they ‘sub-contracted’ (passed on) all or some of it to another business.
- Before you do that, it’s a good idea to:
- Gather any paperwork and receipts
- Take photos to use as evidence of the problem
- Make notes about what’s happened, including dates and times
If you can’t come to an agreement then using ‘alternative dispute resolution’ is a way of solving disagreements without going to court. The Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133.
Source: Citizens Advice
By the end of September the extension had reached roof height, but the client was told she needed to make a second payment of £15,000 for the windows and roof tiles.
One week later, the builder took the bottom half of the fireplace out and never came back, says Ms Schermer.
Mr Gartland, who has his business listed in the Commercial Park area of Chesterfield, claims he had brought the job to a halt after suffering abuse from Ms Schermer’s family.
The 39-year-old from Derbyshire said he had been forced to delay the work due to the fuel shortage at the time, but promised he would recommence work at a later date.
‘It was that time when you couldn’t get diesel,’ he told Nottinghamshire Live.
‘The next day I said I couldn’t make it but I that I could make it tomorrow. As soon as I put the phone down I started getting calls from her family threatening me.’
He added that she had never demanded a refund.
Ms Schermer, who admitted planning permission had not been obtained for the work, refutes the claim, and says Mr Gartland had told her son he was working on another site at the time and blocked her number.
She said she felt as though she had been ‘preyed upon’ after moving to the UK from Holland last year.
‘What he’s doing is not very nice at all and he’s preying on others,” she said. ‘I’m almost 60 now so I can’t really get another mortgage.’
Her husband Martin Schermer blasted Mr Gartland as a ‘cowboy builder’.
Her husband Martin Schermer blasted Mr Gartland as a ‘cowboy builder’.
He added: ‘He left us in a right mess and ran off with a lot of our money.
‘Insurance said they are not paying out because he has no assets.
‘So we are in deep sh**’.
Trading Standards have been contacted for comment.
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